1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electroanalytical method of subjecting a substance to be determined to a determination based on change in the electrolytic voltage, electrolytic current or electrolytic coulomb number in the process of electrolysis of the substance to the determined.
2. Field of the Invention
An electrochemical analytical method has recently been broadened in its fields of use. The method is used in connection with the so-called biosensor, liquid-chromatographic detector, and in other areas.
Conventional methods for detecting specimens according to the electroanalytical method include a method of immersing a detecting electrode such as an ion selective electrode, biological electrode, etc. in a sample solution, a method of forcibly flowing a sample solution inside a working electrode as in the case of chromatographical detector or flow injection detector, and a method of directly feeding a sample into an electrolyte as in the case of Karl Fischer method for moisture determination.
The above-mentioned prior art, however, has raised various problems. For instance, since a substantial amount of time is required for washing the electrode part, an analytical time as a whole is prolonged. In the case of insufficient washing, analytical accuracy is notably reduced. Also, the background level is so high that the art is unsuitable to microanalysis, and there is a limitation in the reduction of the detector volume. Thus the determination time itself is too long. Accordingly the art has not been satisfactory. Thus, for example, even in the case of iodometry broadly employed according to manual analysis, only potentiometers and galvanic cells have been proposed as instruments for use in automatic analysis.